Corruption is Class Warfare

Abramoff, DeLay, Ney, Pombo, Blount, Cunningham, ad nauseum. What do they all have in common? No, not just that they are Republicans. It is that they are all serving the interests of corporations and the rich. They all have declared war on working people, including their faithful Republican base.

The corruption is not just in the money. Actually, the money is small potatoes. It's in the legislation they passed, such as the prescription drug company give-away, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the bogus bankruptcy bill, the $20 billion airline bail-out after 9/11, etc. It's in the no-bid contracts. It's in the jobs that Bush hands out to cronies.

Any legislation should target the people who are paying the bribes and getting the spoils, not just their bag-men. Yet, as we sit here, those are the people who are writing the so-called "reform" legislation.

Progressives and Democrats should not allow cheese-cloth legislation to pass. Democrats in particular know from their experience. They passed campaign finance reform that hurt them, but not the corporations. They are very competent at shooting themselves in the foot.  How do we do prevent that from happening? Here are my suggestions:

(1) Demand that the fruits of the corruption, such as the drug-company give-away, be repealed. We need national health care that helps seniors, not Pfizer.
(2) Demand an end to the revolving door. No member of Congress  should be allowed to work for or lobby for any interest that had legislation that they voted on in committee or the Floor for 5 years after departing.
 (3) Make a similar rule for any political appointee (yo, Pentagon generals, it should apply to you, too).
(4) Prohibit the spouse or immediate family from lobbying or fundraising.
(5) Those guilty of violations or corrupt practices AND their corporate bosses will be fined and/or jailed equally.
(6) Immediate disbanding of the "K Street Project," in which DeLay, Hastert and Co. dictate who is hired by lobbying firms.
(7) Prohibit former members access to the Floor or cloakrooms of either the House or Senate. Currently, they have the "privilege" of wandering on to the Floor to lobby their former colleagues.
(8) Ban the use of corporate jets by members of Congress. Did you know that DeLay was flown to his indictment on a private, corporate jet?

I believe these are resonable proposasls that could actually be passed. Some reform measures being proposed are too 'out there'.  They would cripple progressive and labor groups' ability to negotiate with members of Congress.